Support means for fusees

ABSTRACT

A support for a fusee comprising a rigid paperboard member having two apertures therein. The support will serve to hold the fusee in an upright position inclined with respect to an axis perpendicular to the supporting surface, in a position substantially horizontal with respect to the plane of the supporting surface, or can be used to interconnect a plurality of fusees to provide for sequential burning thereof.

United States Patent Barocca et al.

[ 1 July 25, 1972 [54] SUPPORT MEANS FOR FUSEES [72] lnventors: Aldo J. Barocca; Ralph H. Benedict, both of Godfrey, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation [22] Filed: June 30, 1969 21 Appl. No.: 837,513

[52] U.S. Cl ..l02/37.4, 248/44 [51] Int. Cl. ..C06d 1/04 [58] Field of Search ..248/38, 44, 42; 21 1/69. 1 109;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,005,826 6/1935 Kulp et al [OZ/37.4 X 2,070,882 2/1937 Brown ..248/46 2,049,407 7/] 936 Clark .l 1 02/3 7.8 2,448,752 9/1948 2,543,533 2/l95l 2,848,946 8/1958 Goebig 102/3 7.8 3,368.5 I 8 2/l 968 Anthony ..248/44 X Primary Examiner-Robert F. Stahl Anorne \--Donald R. Motsko, H. Samuel Kieser and William W. Jones [5 7] ABSTRACT A support for a fusee comprising a rigid paperboard member having two apertures therein. The support will serve to hold the fusee in an upright position inclined with respect to an axis perpendicular to the supporting surface, in a position substantially horizontal with respect to the plane of the supporting surface, or can be used to interconnect a plurality of fusees to provide for sequential burning thereof.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures Patented July 25, 1972 INVENTORS ALDO J. BAROCCA RALPH H. BENED/CT 7% Soul SUPPORT MEANS FOR FUSEES This invention relates generally to a support for fusees of the like. More particularly, this invention relates to a fusee support that will hold the fusee in the desired position and which is economical and easy to manufacture.

Fusees are commonly used to serve as a warning or danger signal in the event of a breakdown or other emergency resulting from the operation of a vehicle. Some fusees have been provided with metal spikes extending from their base to provide means for holding the fusee in a burning position. However, not only is it impossible to implant a spike on a paved roadway, but also, after the fusee has burned, the spike will remain on the roadway resulting in possible danger to vehicular traffic due to a blowout of a tire if the spike is run over. Various paperboard supports have been proposed; however, these have all been rather exotic structures which are relatively expensive and complicated to assemble.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved stand for a fusee.

Another object of this invention is to provide a stand for a fusee which is economical to manufacture and easy to erect.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a stand for a fusee whereby the fusee can be supported in an upright position inclined with respect to an axis perpendicular to the plane of the supporting surface, can be held in a horizontal position with regard to the plane of the supporting surface, or can be used to interconnect a plurality of fusees for sequential buming.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent by reference to the following description and to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a fusee and the stand of the present invention with the fusee being held in an upright position inclined with respect to an axis perpendicular to the supporting surface.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the fusee and stand with the axis of the fusee being substantially horizontal with respect to the supporting surface and the stand functioning as a no-roll device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a plurality of fusees interconnected by the stand to provide foe sequential burning of the fusees.

Referring to the drawings, the stand 2 of the present invention comprises a generally square or rectangular, rigid member fabricated from a consumable material such as paperboard, corrugated board or plastic. The stand 2 includes a first top edge 4 spaced from and parallel to a second bottom edge 6. A first side edge 8 is spaced from and parallel to a second side edge 10. Two apertures 12 and 14 extend through stand 2. The axes of the two apertures 12 and 14 are spaced apart in a direction parallel to the side edges 8 and 10.

For reference, a typical fusee may include a cylindrical paper tube 16 closed at its rearward end by a plug 18. For the purpose of this description, the ignitable end of the fusee will be referred to as the forward end and the opposite end referred to as the rearward end or base. The rearward end por tion 20 of the tube 16 is folded over and crimped against the plug 18. The tube 16 is charged with an appropriate pyrotechnic composition 22, the composition of which is determined by the desired color of the light and smoke to be generated. The pyrotechnic composition is tamped into the tube 16 or otherwise compressed, to nearly fill the tube 16. A

small cavity 24 is provided in the upper end of the compressed pyrotechnic composition 22 and the forward portion of the tube I6 is bent over to form an upper crimp 26 over the top of the tyrotechnic composition 22. A match head mixture 28 of any conventional, suitable composition is positioned within the cavity 24 and extends above and over the upper crimp 26 to serve as a match head and as a seal.

If it is desired to hold the fusee in an upright position, the rearward end of a fusee 27 is inserted through the upper aperture 12 as shown in FIG. I. With this arrangement, the front edge 6 and the base of the fusee 27 engage the supporting surface and serve to hold the fusee in an upright position inclined with respect to an axis perpendicular to the supporting surface.

As an alternative, the stand 2 can be used as a no-roll device. In this case the rearward end of a fusee 30 is inserted through the lower aperture 14 and the fusee positioned on the supporting stirface such that the forward end of the fusee and the lower edge 6 of the stand 2 form a base for engaging the supporting surface. Alternatively, either of the side edges 8 or 10 can be used as the base. This arrangement results in the fusee 30 being supported in a position such that the axis of the fusee is almost horizontal to the supporting surface. The length of bottom edge 6 will prevent the fusee from rolling.

In many instances the length of time that a single fusee will burn will not be sufficient. A special feature of the stand 2 of this invention is the fact that it can be used to support a plurality of fusees in a position where one will automatically ignite a second one prior to the time that the first one extinguishes itself. As shown in FIG. 3, the base of a first fusee 32 is inserted through lower aperture 14. A second fusee 34 has its forward end inserted through upper aperture 12 of the stand 2 so that the match head 28 of the second fusee 34 is in overlapping relationship with the bottom fusee 32. The stand and the fusees 32 and 34 are positioned on the supporting surface such that bottom edge 6, the forward end of fusee 32 and the rearward end of fusee 34 all engage the supporting surface. During the burning of fusee 32, as the flame approaches the base thereof, the flame will ignite the match head 28 of fusee 34 which in turn will ignite the pyrotechnic composition in fusee 34 whereby fusee 34 will commence burning. It is to be understood that if additional burning time is desired, a third fusee may be provided in tandem with fusee 34 by virtue of a second support similar to support 2 and mounted on fusee 34 and the third fusee in the same manner that fusees 32 and 34 are mounted on the stand 2.

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A support for providing sequential burning of a plurality of fusees, each of said fusees having a base and a forward end opposite said base provided with a match head, said support comprising a rigid member of consumable material having two side edges oppositely disposed from each other, a top edge, and a bottom edge oppositely disposed from said top edge, said member having two apertures therethrough spaced apart in a direction parallel to one of said side edges to provide a top and bottom aperture, the bottom aperture having a fusee extending therethrough with the support positioned adjacent the base thereof and a top aperture having a fusee extending therethrough with the supporting member positioned adjacent the forward end of said second fusee, said forward end of said second fusee overlapping the base of said first fusee. 

1. A support for providing sequential burning of a plurality of fusees, each of said fusees having a base and a forward end opposite said base provided with a match head, said support comprising a rigid member of consumable material having two side edges oppositely disposed from each other, a top edge, and a bottom edge oppositely disposed from said top edge, said member having two apertures therethrough spaced apart in a direction parallel to one of said side edges to provide a top and bottom aperture, the bottom aperture having a fusee extending therethrough with the support positioned adjacent the base thereof and a top aperture having a fusee extending therethrough with the supporting member positioned adjacent the forward end of said second fusee, said forward end of said second fusee overlapping the base of said first fusee. 